The Middle East: Reflections On Motivation

The contrasts are striking on many levels. Secular Muslims and devout practicing Muslims. Abu Dhabi and Baghdad. Cooperation and Division. Opulence and Squalor.

This would merely be an interesting observation, an exercise in Arab anthropology, if not for the amount of waste. Both in lives and treasure, on all sides.

It really doesn’t matter which Arab country you consider. Take it as a given that any governing system in the Middle East will be, at best, mildly oppressive and unequal. Then ponder that the key desired outcomes are water, food and opportunity. Opportunity takes many forms, but in this region of the globe, we’ll assume it to mean the ability to live in relative peace. Oppressed, but alive.

Does it really matter if the oppression is religious or secular? Hardly. Unless you believe that only the religiously oppressed get an afterlife, and that the secularly oppressed are getting what they deserve.